SYDNEY SWANS RECONCILIATION ACTION PLAN MAY 2014 - MAY 2016 OUR VISION FOR RECONCILIATION The Sydney Swans Football Club is committed to playing an active role in Australia’s reconciliation journey. Our Club vision, our values and our culture are all aligned to promote a deeper respect and understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. The Club has a proud history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players and involvement in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. This RAP formalises our ongoing commitment to the future of our Club having deeply embedded links to local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Sydney and South Melbourne, as well as a strong presence of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples within the playing group and across the entire football Club. The artwork represents the Indigenous communities of Sydney. It tells the tale of Indigenous people coming together around Sydney’s harbour and estuaries, portraying the way of life that many Sydneysiders experience today. ARTIST – LISA SANSBURY Lisa Sansbury is the mother of Sydney Swans champion and 2014 Australian of the Year Adam Goodes. FOREWORD BY ADAM GOODES The Sydney Swans have been a huge part of my life and my journey and I am proud to be part of the Club’s reconciliation journey. The Club has always respected and been an active participant in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community and this RAP is a formalisation of the work that has already been done and an acknowledgment that work will continue to occur. As part of this RAP, the Club is making a number of significant undertakings, including a commitment to increase Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment within the Club, as well as the implementation of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander talent stream as part of the QBE Sydney Swans Academy. These, as well as the many other commitments outlined in this RAP, ensure that the Sydney Swans are playing a significant role in promoting reconciliation. Sport, and in particular Australian Football has a history of influencing change and tackling social issues. With the AFLPA and a number of clubs, including the Sydney Swans, implementing Reconciliation Action Plans, it is a strong and important message to the broader community that we can all be part of reconciliation in Australia. I encourage everyone associated with the Sydney Swans, our many members and supporters around the country, to read through the Club’s RAP. Be proud that the Club is doing its part for reconciliation, and consider how you can support Australia’s important reconciliation journey. ADAM GOODES Adam is an Andyamathanha/Narungga man. He is the games record holder at the Sydney Swans and the 2014 Australian of the Year. MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE The Sydney Swans are proud to have developed a Reconciliation Action Plan which we hope will further strengthen our relationship with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Respect and accountability are non-negotiable core values of our football club. We respect our Club, we respect our opposition, we respect our supporters and importantly, we respect the community and the role we play within it. We have always respected the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community and we look forward to working with them as we deliver on the important undertakings outlined in this RAP. While the words that make up this RAP are important, they mean nothing without the appropriate action to reach the goals we have set. We are committed to playing our part in the reconciliation journey and are committed to delivering on our RAP. We have assembled a RAP working group with delegates from across the entire Club and Aboriginal community to ensure the plan is acted upon. We are privileged to have a large and passionate member and supporter base, and encourage you all to join us on this journey. It is an important step for the Club. Our fans have long marvelled at the work of Adam Goodes, Michael O’Loughlin and in more recent times Lewis Jetta and Lance Franklin. They are all wonderful players and proud Aboriginal Australians. This RAP is important to them, as it is to the entire Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community and the broader Australian community. That is why it is important to our Club too. ANDREW PRIDHAM ANDREW IRELAND Sydney Swans Chairman Sydney Swans CEO RELATIONSHIPS One of our Club’s core values is TEAM – one Club, on and off the field. Through these values we are committed to inclusion and diversity. Our relationships with Australia’s First Peoples are part of this and part of our focus on playing an integral role in our local community. KEY ACTIVITIES/ACTION RESPONSIBILITY MEASURABLE TARGETS TIMELINE 1.1 Establish and maintain the Chief Executive The working group must include at least the following May 2014 Sydney Swans RAP working (note that one person can fulfill multiple criteria): group to actively monitor • Three (3) members of the Management Group inclusive RAP development, including of the Chief Executive. implementation of actions and • Two (2) Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Club tracking progress. representatives. • One (1) Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Community representative. • One (1) Board Member. • One (1) member of the Sydney Swans Player Leadership Group. • One (1) Football Department staff member. • One (1) Commercial Operations staff member. • Quarterly meetings conducted each year. RAP Working Group • One (1) meeting per year must be conducted at a Secretary location of particular significance to the local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community. 1.2 Build strong relationships Senior Brand Manager / • Identify local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander December 2014 with Aboriginal and Torres Community Manager community groups within the Sydney and Melbourne Strait Islander Communities areas. to establish Community • Explore opportunities to engage these groups with the Partners for the Club. Sydney Swans. 1.3 Increase awareness across Senior Manager – Events • Hold at least one (1) internal event each year during May 2014, 2015, 2016 the Club of the importance of & Hospitality National Reconciliation Week. Reconciliation. • This event is to be promoted within the organisation and placed on the Reconciliation Australia website. Human Resources • Include a detailed breakdown of the RAP during the June 2014 Manager employee induction process. 1.4 Leverage existing Club Senior Brand Manager / • Continue to embrace the Goodes-O’Loughlin Foundation May 2014 relationships with Aboriginal Community Manager as an official Charity Partner of the Sydney Swans. and Torres Strait Islander Communities to help achieve Reconciliation. 1.5 Embrace our members, Senior Manager – Events • Officially launch the Sydney Swans RAP at a major Club AFL Indigenous Round Official corporate partners and other and Hospitality event. Launch (27 May 2014) relevant stakeholders in our • Provide a copy of the Sydney Swans RAP to all May 2014 Senior Manager – Reconciliation strategy. members and corporate partners of the Club. Membership & Customer • Actively encourage feedback from all Club stakeholders June 2014 Strategy regarding the RAP. Senior Manager – Corporate Partnerships RESPECT RESPECT is a core value of our business. Our Club has proud links to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, largely through players past and present. The development and recognition of these links are an important part of the history and the future of our Club. KEY ACTIVITIES/ACTION RESPONSIBILITY MEASURABLE TARGETS TIMELINE 2.1 Facilitate opportunities for Human Resources Manager • Develop and implement a cultural awareness training February 2015 staff and players to engage in strategy for the Sydney Swans. cultural learning to increase • Formal Cultural Awareness Training sessions are to be May 2016 understanding and appreciation offered to all staff and players with 100% compliance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait by the conclusion of the RAP. Islander cultures, histories and • All members of the RAP working group to participate in December 2014 achievements. a Cultural Awareness Training session. 2.2 Entrench Aboriginal General Manager – Match • An Acknowledgement of Country protocol document is May 2014 and Torres Strait Islander Day, Events & Hospitality to be created and communicated across the Club. Recognition in Club events and • Acknowledgement of Country is to occur on the activities. following occasions: Delivered by an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander player at each home match on the venue screen. Delivered by the MC at the commencement of all match day functions. Delivered by the MC at the commencement of official Club events. • The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flag is to be flown at all AFL matches played at the SCG and ANZ Stadium. • Welcome to Country ceremony to take place at the AFL Indigenous Round annual Indigenous Round match played in National (May 2014, 2015, 2016) Reconciliation Week. • The Marn Grook Trophy to be awarded annually to the winner of the Sydney Swans vs Geelong Cats Indigenous Round match maintaining a tradition that extends back until 2002. Chief Commercial Officer • An Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Guernsey March 2014, 2015, 2016 is to be designed and worn by all players at the annual Indigenous Round match played in National Reconciliation Week. IT Manager • All staff email signatures to include an June 2014 Acknowledgement of Country. 2.3 Encourage all staff to Human Resources • All staff to be provided with the opportunity to attend 1st Sunday to 2nd Sunday partake in NAIDOC Week Manager an official NAIDOC Week Event during working hours July 2014, 2015, 2016 Events. upon request. • To engage with local and/or National NAIDOC Week Committee to discuss mutually beneficial opportunities. 2.4 Demonstrate links to Executive Assistant • An Acknowledgement of Country plaque is to be May 2014 Aboriginal and Torres Strait installed in the reception area of the Basil Sellers Centre Islander Communities within and the Melbourne Office.